SCSC SPRING CLASSIC

story and photography by Mark McLaughlin

SCSCSpring Classic

The Southern California Speedboat Club kicks off its 2021 season in style at La Paz Park in Parker, AZ.

SPORTSMAN EXTREME: One of the most popular classes of boats, the SEs put on a very exciting show. On Saturday, two boats went over, one on each corner, limiting the finals to a four-boat field. In this photo, the top three boats are heading for turn 1, with Casey Hoffman leading the way in the #719 machine. Following Hoffman is Lane Fredrick in the #480 boat, and then Samantha Macdonald in the #63 flatty. This was the order of finish on the podium as well!

The Southern California Speedboat Club got the 2021 season started with bang with its Spring Classic, held at La Paz Park in Parker, AZ. The race started in style, but by Sunday, there was a ton of mechanical carnage along with some banged up boats. And there was the usual new course issues of pit placement and closing off the river on both ends. But at least the weather was perfect for boating!

The event saw two boats flipping. K777 pilot Duff Daily (driving for Mike Stock) rolled into turn 1 a little hot and flipped the K boat over and upside down. Daily was fine, and there was minimal damage to the boat; the wing was missing and the capsule lid torn off. Meanwhile, Sportsman Extreme racer Bob Brown went into Turn 1 with a hop and continued to hop and flip over. Brown exited the machine on the right side, and helped tear off the deck of the boat. He was transported with leg injuries, but was healing at home comfortably at press time.

GPS 100 boats started out with a strong field of potential winners. But by Sunday afternoon, only two machines finished, with Don Dunster taking the win in the #757 flatbottom and Jasper Macdonald finishing second in the #155 boat. All other competitors were out with mechanical issues. With an anticipated attendance of between eight and 10 boats, the Cracker Boxes endured some breakage during the week testing, or else ran short on time getting ready to race. Come Saturday, four boats entered the course for the beginning of their heats. By the end of the weekend, the overall winner was the P550 Games Boys Racing machine driven by Andrew Games, and Nick Nebeker riding.

CRACKER BOX: With an anticipated attendance of between 8-10 boats, the Cracker Boxes had some breakage during the week testing, or ran short on time getting ready to race. Come Saturday, four boats entered the course for the beginning of their heats. By the end of the weekend, the overall winner was the #550 Games Boys Racing machine driven by Andrew Games, with Nick Nebeker riding.

CLASSIC ENDURANCE: Tyler Louis, driving for his father, Jim, in the 19' Mandella, raced in both the Classic Endurance and the Grand National classes. In Classic Endurance, he finished off the weekend in the top spot. By the time the Grand Nationals went to their final, only two boats were left, leaving Tyler and his crew sitting on the sidelines.

GPS 100: The class started out with a strong field, but by Sunday afternoon, only two finished. Don Dunster took the win in the #757 flatbottom, and Jasper Macdonald finished second in the #155 boat.

SPORTSMAN 350 MOD HYDROPLANE: Tim Herman of of Tempe, AZ, finished third overall in the class. JUNIOR HYDROPLANE: Luke Hooker won the Junior Hydroplane class. He took seventh place in the Sportsman Limited A Hydroplane class.

OUTLAW HYDROPLANE: Three-time podium racer Brittany Maurer, of Apple Valley, CA, won the Sportsman Limited A Hydroplane class, the Outlaw A Hydroplane class, and finished second in the Sportsman Limited 20 Hydroplane class. Congratulations to her and the crew for making three trips to the stage!

SPORTSMAN LIMITED C HYDROPLANE: RJ West leads the field into the corner over Roger Hewson. By the end of the race, West ended up in second place in his 7-C boat and Roger finished third.

SPORTSMAN LIMITED “20” HYDROPLANE: Casey Wright of Huntington Beach, CA, grabbed the top spot in this competitive class.

K777 pilot Duff Daily, driving for Mike Stock, rolls into turn 1 a little hot and flips the K boat over and upside down. Daily was fine—he can be spotted sitting on top of the bottom of his boat. There was only minimal damage to the boat, with the wing missing and the capsule lid torn off. (Photo sequence by Daren Van Ryte.)

Meanwhile, Sportsman Extreme racer Bob Brown goes into turn 1 with a hop and continues to hop and flip over. Brown exited the machine on the right side, and helped tear off the deck of the boat (shown at right). He was transported with leg injuries, but is healing at home comfortably. (Photo sequence by Scott Haynes, NJBA Team Rescue, #SE54.)

GRAND NATIONALS: The class had a decent turnout at the beginning of the weekend, but by Sunday, the only competitors left were Cole Noble in the GN30, and Wyatt McAllister. Noble, driving for Pat Hoban, took the win and dominated the class.

dealing with Covid-related issues, logistical nightmares and various challenging personalities, it was a wonder if we could even pull this off. Eleventh hour “monkey wrenches” seemed determined to derail us but we stood steadfast and adapted as best we could.

The evening Registration Party at the London Bridge Swap Meet Plaza kicked off the festivities of the weekend. With a perimeter established by exquisite, high dollar performance catamarans AKA “Super Cats,” the bland parking lot transformed itself into a festive, carnival-like atmosphere. Cardinali BBQ hosted the registrants with delicious tri-tip or pulled pork sandwiches with free beverages offered to the VIPs––soft or adult, were the options. Lake Havasu’s own Boom Bandits provided the sounds and sights, playing popular tunes as well as displaying our boating videos from previous events deep into night.

The next day started with a brunch run to the south end of the lake to the beautiful Havasu Springs Resort, where delicious breakfast burritos were served to all participants, courtesy of Bling Sauce detail products. Then came an open day of boating where everyone was free to enjoy Lake Havasu without worry. The evening brought an outrageous dance party near the Martini Bay nightclub where West Festers cut loose into the a.m. hours to the tunes provided again by the Boom Bandits.

Saturday was concert day! With over a year of Covid-related lockdowns and zero signs of live music anywhere, this was undoubtedly the highlight of the weekend. The 60-foot floating stage, strategically decorated with intricately placed Super Cats, served as the perfect setting for such a concert to happen. The awesome local band Undercover warmed up the sold-out crowd with familiar favorite tunes, as the crowd sang along in unison and in varying degrees of pitch. Then LIT hit the stage and the river was ROCKIN’. The casual beach party quickly turned into an all out rager! Blazing through all of their hits (and even a new one), the fearsome Fullerton foursome delighted all that was in attendance. Big thanks to A.Jay, Jeremy, Kevin, Taylor and their dedicated crew for trusting us with this one-of-a-kind appearance.

That night was our charity auction benefitting the Western Arizona Humane Society, hosted by the multi-talented Nolan Ferris of New York, who has become the go-to guy in the industry for this type of task. The climax of the night and perfect capper to the whole event was the auctioning of the adorable Australian Shepherd mix puppy known as “Biscuit.” Young Colton Moe of the famed Hurry Up Outerlimits clan immediately fell in love with her and was the first one to place a bid. Apparently, a few others loved her too as the bidding quickly escalated. Then out of seemingly nowhere, a bid of $3000 came from a voice and raised hand in the shadows. Crestfallen, young Colton knew he had been hopelessly outbid, as the puppy was handed over to the generous gentleman. But then, this same gentleman walked Biscuit over to young Colton and gently placed the pup into his arms, as the ultimate gesture of giving. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. This gentleman was Tom Flatley, owner of the London Bridge Resort which had been our home for the week. All told, Super Cat Fest West helped raise over $30,000 for the benefit of the animals of Lake Havasu City.

Since then, we’ve been hearing nothing but positive feedback about the very first Super Cat Fest West. The casual vibe of the whole event seemed to resonate with those that attended, and we’ve already gotten solid commitments from sponsors, should we decide to produce the second one. I can’t thank Todd Taylor and Alvin Heathman enough for their instrumental roles in pulling off such a monstrous task, as well as all of the sponsors that believed in what we were doing. This could not have happened without your support.

In other equally exciting news, Speedboat Magazine has finalized a large new distribution deal with Global Media to expand our presence to appear in major first-class airport lounges, private jet charter centers and luxury hotels across the nation and beyond. This will expose our publication to a new, targeted demographic that will most certainly benefit our valued advertisers and introduce our awesome world of performance boating to those that may not have been privy to it before.

However, to meet the new deadlines that accompany this deal, we had to skip our regular May 2021 issue and move forward as the June 2021 issue. Subscribers will still receive all nine issues for the year as expected. We thank you all for your support and we look forward to the newcomers that are sure to be hooked into the world of Speedboat!